Our schools deserve better than DeVos

Cal Thomas tells us no less than five times what the newly installed Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, thinks or believes in the Feb. 18 column "New direction is needed with public school system."

This isn’t good enough. When we’re talking about the future of millions of children, we need unbiased analysis, not policies based on unexamined beliefs.

Thomas points to the differences in math and science achievement between the United States and some East Asian and European countries and then tells us that DeVos "believes" that these differences are caused by a lack of school choice and the failure of Washington policies. Ms. DeVos would do well do some homework.

A recent report released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development points to some key differences in educational policies. Actual research, and not just "beliefs," show that students perform better when they are assessed in first grade for their math, science and reading abilities.

Other research looks at the role of societal values and indicates that students in cultures that value math and science perform better. When our elected officials deny the science of climate change and muzzle scientists, it’s possible that students attitudes toward science and math suffer.

Determining the true cause of a problem takes critical thinking, hard work and an open mind. Sadly, these seem to be lacking in DeVos plans for the education of American children. She is cherry-picking information and using it to support her own political agenda. DeVos is now in charge of an agency that directs our children’s education. We need to demand policies based on factual research, not beliefs.